Challenge: Accepted
by Cinpii
Summary: [Ryoma x Sakuno. Non yaoi.] Thinking no one was watching, Sakuno is caught doing something embarrassing under a tree. Slightly perverted, please note the rating!


**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis was created by Konomi Takeshi. Not me. Please don't sue. Excerpt taken from Beriath's work with permission.

**AN:** This is my reaction to Beriath's 'Addicted to the Prince'. I plan for this to be the first in a series of RyoSaku one shots. Many thanks to Beriath for the inspiration. Many thanks to you as the reader for putting up with this slow, erratic writer. I had a great time writing this. Hope you all enjoy. Comments and criticisms welcome.

**Challenge: Accepted**

By Cinpii

**Challenge 1: Addicted to the Prince**

_I crave for your touch. I crave for your love. I crave more to be embraced by your strong arms that had first conquered my world. The fragrance of your cologne lingers on every inch of my skin, marking me as yours. _

_Yours. The Prince's possession. The Prince's bird. _

_Those tormenting nights you entrapped me with your bare chest, breaking my resistance with your caressing lips… _

_Tell me please, my Prince, how you became such a poppy for me to taste? What enchantment had you cast as for me to willingly give you myself?_

_My Prince, my Prince, could I be your princess?_

Ryuzaki Sakuno blushed as she set the paperback aside. What the heck was she thinking bringing such suggestive reading material to school of all places? The fiery spots of red could be seen quite clearly from a distance under the tree from which she rested, quietly whiling her lunch break away.

The wind blew softly and stirred the tendrils of hair that had escaped her ubiquitous braids. A loose wisp tickled her cheek and she raised her hand to brush it away.

Ah, if only it was so, she and Ryoma in the place of the heroine and hero of the novel she was reading. Of course, if it really did happen, Sakuno knew she'd just die. Trapped against Ryoma's bare chest, assaulted by his endless kisses… Sakuno sunk down lower and hid her hot cheeks with her palms.

She had started the book at Tomo-chan's insistence, and now found that she could not put it down. What was first embarrassed reluctance slowly evolved into shy curiosity. The world of romance novels was one Sakuno had never explored before, but now the straps of hesitation bound her no more. So enthralled was she by the novel, that she had made up the excuse of needing to do an errand during lunch and instead, found a secluded tree to read beneath.

With a deep breath, Sakuno picked up the novel and re-read the passage, engraving the words into her heart. _I crave for your touch. I crave for your love… _she whispered the words achingly, wishing her own prince would embrace her like so.

_My Prince, my Prince, could I be your princess?_

Sakuno leaned back and sighed, slipping her thumb between the pages to hold her place. This was the life, reading under the shady seclusion of a tree, alone and free to dream to her heart's content. So what if it was all pretend? Long, dark lashes fanned over the soft swells of her cheeks as she shuttered her vision. She smiled a little smile, content and happy.

The self-induced bliss was short lived. A voice she knew all too well interrupted the moment of silence.

"Those tormenting nights you entrapped me with your bare chest, breaking my resistance with your caressing lips…?"

Reddish-brown eyes shot open in horror. It didn't take long for them to foveate on the lounging body of the boy perched upon a branch, directly above her. Her face reddened as she stammered the words.

"Ry-Ryoma-kun?"

Kami-sama, she wanted to die. He had said those words verbatim. The shame of being caught by Echizen Ryoma of all people froze every muscle in her body.

"Eh? I didn't know Ryuzaki liked those kinds of things." Ryoma hopped down and casually brushed himself off. With an easy nonchalance, he deposited himself right beside her and leaned over, plucking the book from her lifeless hands.

With a cursory glance, he looked at the cover and then flipped to the colored insert. Cat-shaped eyes scanned the picture of a young couple engaged in a fiery embrace, their clothing disheveled and undone. The prince was dark haired, his lips glued to the patch of naked flesh above the girl's barely concealed breasts. His eyes were smoldering and half-lidded, no doubt foretelling his lusty intentions. Strong, tanned hands wrapped possessively around the half nude temptress, and one, much to Ryoma's amusement, rode extremely high up her naked thigh.

_Oi,_ he thought. _This is worse than oyaji's dirty mags. At least those girls are clothed. Mostly. _Ryoma knew this because he had checked out a couple. Obtaining a copy wasn't difficult, because his old man stashed them everywhere. Sure, the girls were cute, but nothing to get excited over. He'd much rather look at clothed pictures of the girl next to him than half nude ones of strangers.

Not that he'd mind a half nude image of Sakuno.

Hiding a smirk, Ryoma instead raised his brow and teased her some more. Really, she was too cute for him to pass up such an opportunity. He was a sadist for sure, but there was something about seeing Sakuno's cheeks stained that pretty crimson hue that he couldn't resist.

Ever since they graduated from junior high and moved onto high school, she had blossomed from a pretty little thing into an undeniable beauty. Ryoma peered at her over the top of the book, taking in his fill. She was sitting rigidly, flustered and still, looking so damn cute and kissable…

Ryoma couldn't be held accountable for his actions if she kept tempting him like that. And really, it was her own fault for disturbing his peace like so. This was his tree. He discovered it one day while evading his tenacious fan club. No one ever thought to look up, so he was never caught. Since then it became his refuge, the sturdy branches comfortable and welcoming. Ryoma spent his lunches in this tree all the time.

It was with a great deal of amusement when he was stirred from his nap by the quiet, lilting voice of the girl he liked so much. An even greater deal of amusement when the meaning of her soft words permeated his mind.

What perfect timing she had, he mused. He had just awakened from a particularly delightful dream of him and her and disheveled clothing. Under a tree, no less.

It was a reoccurring fantasy, Ryuzaki and he under a tree. She'd be napping under the gentle blossoms of a sakura when he'd happen by. And he'd wake her up. Rather unconventionally.

Ok, so this was a far cry from her panties tangled around her ankles and her mewing his name in his ear. Details, details. It'd get there eventually. Ryoma knew this with all the surety he possessed. And he had cockiness in spades, so it was no small amount.

"Give that back." Her voice was soft, yet determined.

Ryoma hitched a brow. Well, well. The kitten had claws. This new side to Ryuzaki was worth exploring.

"Make me." He stood up, opened to a random page, and begun to read aloud. Sakuno lunged. Ryoma evaded.

Theirs became a dance of evasion and attack. Sidestep. Lunge. Duck. Swipe. Years of tennis experience had taught him how to read body language. Sakuno's forthright intentions were as readable as the book in his hands.

After a few minutes she stopped, instead choosing to rest her palms on her knees. Sakuno panted, the exertion giving her complexion a healthy, becoming glow.

_So pretty._

Ryoma paused from his soliloquy to consider her with an appreciative eye. He was barely winded himself, but then again, he wasn't the one expending massive amounts of energy chasing.

"Ryuzaki isn't trying hard enough."

Sakuno jerked her head up at the goading taunt. Her chest was heaving from the brief spurt of exercise. How could he think she wasn't trying?

The cat-eyed boy smirked. Teasing girls was really fun. He opened his mouth to read more. "The fragrance of your cologne lingers on every inch of my skin…"

"No!" Sakuno flushed. She knew that passage. It was a particularly embarrassing one and she did not want him to be reading it out loud. In a fit of desperation, she launched at him with a flying tackle.

In normal circumstances, her movements would have been no match to the honed precision of Ryoma's reflexes. However, this was not normal circumstances. Sakuno was pumped with adrenaline, and that added X-factor proved to be the unpredictable quality that Ryoma misjudged.

They fell together in a jumbled pile of limbs. Loose bits of vegetation flew up in the air before settling down again.

"Ow," the tennis prodigy winced.

"Unggh," Sakuno moaned.

It took a moment before the realization kicked in. They blinked in unison before Ryoma, with a Cheshire cat grin, took advantage of the situation and rolled over. Dazed eyes sharpened when her world turned 180 degrees. He was caging her down, preventing escape.

"Ryoma-kun?"

"Mada mada dane."

And there was no more need for pretend. The prince had chosen his princess.

**FIN**


End file.
